but generally you know I like a knife that has a 15°ree um double bevel. I have some single bevel knives as well.
J. Kenji López-Alt · 2026
Ask Kenji Anything: Tools, Woks, Knives, Stew, and Smoke Detectors (a.k.a. “Cooking Detectors”)
Watch or listen to Ask Kenji Anything: Tools, Woks, Knives, Stew, and Smoke Detectors (a.k.a. “Cooking Detectors”) in full, 65 minutes, published by J. Kenji López-Alt.
56 claims about 1 product extracted from Ask Kenji Anything: Tools, Woks, Knives, Stew, and Smoke Detectors (a.k.a. “Cooking Detectors”) (J. Kenji López-Alt). Quotes are short and link back to the moment they were said; we publish no transcripts.
Who is speaking in Ask Kenji Anything: Tools, Woks, Knives, Stew, and Smoke Detectors (a.k.a. “Cooking Detectors”)?
What was said in Ask Kenji Anything: Tools, Woks, Knives, Stew, and Smoke Detectors (a.k.a. “Cooking Detectors”), in order?
An index to Ask Kenji Anything: Tools, Woks, Knives, Stew, and Smoke Detectors (a.k.a. “Cooking Detectors”). Each timecode opens the recording at that second.
And I inherited a couple of gigantic wooden cutting boards.
they had these beautiful uh booze block cutting boards, which is what this one is, a booze block.
Cites appearance
I I mean, I love wooden cutting boards. I use them almost exclusively.
I mean Booze Block makes really great ones.
wood has some natural antibacterial properties. Uh, so they actually end up um generally with less bacterial uh buildup on them than a plastic cutting board does. They also don't get microlastics um into your food the way that plastic cutting boards does.
Cites edge retention, hygiene, safety
So, if you've ever had like you're slicing scallions and you end up with like the scallion cat caterpillar where they're kind of sliced through most of the way but a little bit connected, um the odds of that happening are much higher on a on a hard cutting board. So, wood is great because um the blade actually sinks…
it is the most used. This and the ukulele that she got me are the two most used gifts um I have ever received and they are both made out of wood.
Howard Butcher block conditioner is what I use. Um so, you know, I I I'll do it I don't know, maybe one a few times a year, but but really as needed, you know.
I would strongly recommend against any kind of uh, metal or glass or hard material cutting board. Um, you know, a knife blade uh is is sharp and it's strong. Um, but e even if you even the strongest knife blade, if you're going to use it on titanium cut, I mean, titanium is very very strong, but if you use it on glass…
Three judgements rest on this sentence:
- recommendation about Cutting Boards cites edge retention (against)
- recommendation about Cutting Boards cites edge retention (against)
- recommendation about Cutting Boards cites edge retention (against)
an induction range, um a good induction range or a good even an electric coil range will give you a more even heat than a gas flame will.
Two judgements rest on this sentence:
- performance about electric coil range cites even heating
- performance about Induction Hobs cites adjustability, even heating, heating speed
it's generally easier to, you know, modern induction. You can set most of these stove tops you can um set a temperature and it'll take it there and it'll hold it there for you. um very difficult to do with gas.
induction is great, you know, particularly for pretty much all western style techniques.
the good things about induction and gas are that they're both very responsive. So, you you switch them on, you can get them up to full blast, uh, and you're, you know, you're pumping energy into that pan uh, very quickly, and you shut them off, and it instantly will cut the heat.
Cites heating speed
gas a little bit faster than induction because you know induction stove tops they do have a bit of a thermal mass in the um you know the glass that's covering them. So that will retain a little bit of heat. So gas is slightly more responsive than induction
also for certain types of say like Mexican cooking where you're going to be roasting chilies directly on a on a flame uh in order to sort of char the skins or roasting garlic or roasting whatever it is um directly in the flame.
Cites flavour impact
So, for example, cooking in a walk um where you actually don't want the heat evenly spread out. You want to kind of concentrate in the center um and where actually having a a gas flame um is important to the flavor. Um so, with a walk, again, like getting the flame to go inside the pan um and get you that walk flavor,…
Cites flavour impact (against), induction compatible (against)
the the other difficult thing with induction of course is that it has things have to be induction friendly. So there has to be some kind of um steel involved in there. Something that's going to um work with that magnetic magnetic field. Um and you also generally have to have a pan that gets good contact.
Um you do have to be a little bit more careful about not scratching the cook top.
Cites scratch resistance (against)
induction is better for the environment, is better for your health.
Cites speed and efficiency
gas is the most versatile.
Cites versatility
some older cast iron pans that I have, for example, have a little have a very very small lip around the bottom side, so the tops of them are slightly elevated. So, those actually don't work very well in indu induction um because they don't get good contact.
Cites base and rim (against)
You can't get walk flavor out of it,
Cites ease of cleaning (against), flavour impact (against), learning curve (against)
there is more sort of temperature control um and adjustments uh necessary in walk cooking than there are in most styles of um western cooking.
it'll take a little bit more work to get the seasoning, you know, the initial seasoning done, the the black the the blackening um of the surface.
Um it'll just be, you know, slightly more difficult to clean and and uh and you can't do things like let it sit soaking in your sink overnight, etc.
even my new walk uh will work on induction.
Cites induction compatible
but you can get good stir frying out of it.
with a with a with a walk like you do want this sort of concentrated heat zone at the bottom um and progressively cooler zones going up the side. Um they're also sort of designed for for tossing and encouraging evaporation.
Cites flavour impact, shape and form, versatility
that's much easier in a walk because you're able to toss much more effectively in a walk and get the food really moving up into the air.
That's part of the flavor that that you get when you cook in a walk, by the way, is that sort of that that carbonized that polymerizer carbonized oil um uh getting into your food, the glazing and getting into your food.
Uh but once you're there, um you'll be able to cook anything in it.
western skill is not going to be as good for walk cooking for dishes that are designed for stir frying or other types of walk cooking um as a walk because of the well because of the shape.
Cites shape and form (against)
But any portable gas burner um that puts out around, you know, 15,000 BTU is about the max that you can get out of a butane canister um flow um that's going to do really well for walk cooking.
Cites speed and efficiency, power and output
those portable those portable gas burners generally have a very concentrated flame that points up towards the center. Um so they're actually much more effective with their heat than a you know, a western range is designed to spread heat out evenly.
I find that actually even when I had a a portable a full gas range at home, um in general, a small portable butane burner um worked better for walk cooking.
Um so the one I use is from Balmuda, but it's that one is available only in Japan.
even when I had a a portable a full gas range at home
a lot of that heat energy is just kind of flowing up the sides. It's heating up the air around the walk as opposed to just the actual metal in the center of a walk. Um so you you lose some efficiency that way.
Cites speed and efficiency (against)
look for a, um, uh, a portable butane burner around the 15,000 BTU range, um, that's going to be, I think, your best bet for home walk cooking.
Cites power and output
you can stick one of those portable butane burners right on top of it underneath your hood so that you can cook on a walk in your kitchen, have all the smoke and everything vented out. Um, and those burners work really great for walk cooking.
Cites versatility
Um, I find that a uh a bamboo brush like this, you know, which is specifically designed for walks, is actually the best tool for that.
with western skillets um particular with with cast iron um when you season it you're building up sort of layers multiple layers of um polymers you know so when you heat up oil uh it polymerizes it turns into this kind of plastic-like substance um and over time those layers build higher and higher um and that's how you…
Cites seasoning durability
Um so you get this uneven uh metal expansion um which is which makes it really difficult for any sort of seasoning seasoning layer to actually stay there. Um it's going to it's going to come out each time you cook.
Cites seasoning durability (against)
Um that said, you you don't need a walk that expensive um to cook great food.
Cites price (against)
So, you know, maybe it's still it's even then it's still amortized over its lifespan. It'll still be a little more than a cheap walk.
at least um about three times more expensive than um a relatively inexpensive walks. It's it's in line with the price of um sort of high-end Japanese nitrided steel walks um or certain hand hammered walks.
Cites price (against)
So, that's that's uh a dollar or two a year um for for cooking in it.
Cites ease of cleaning, price, seasoning durability
Owned 20 years, no longer
but with a walk like that that's sort of easier to clean, easier like easier to maintain its seasoning, like for me the extra cost was worth it.
the the the walk that I used when I was testing every recipe in my book, I bought um when I was 19 years old. I think I paid I don't remember somewhere between 20 and $40 for it and it lasted for 20 years, you know.
Cites durability, scratch resistance
Owned 20 years, no longer
Um, it won't damage the walk.
this one is nitrited, so the metal is very very hard. It's about twice as hard um as raw carbon steel.
Um and this one ends up being hopefully it's going to last the rest of my life.
just get go to a restaurant supply store, go to a um an Asian supermarket, um and pick up any uh carbon steel walk that's 14 in, has a flat bottom, uh and feels relatively heavy gauge.
Cites shape and form, weight
if you're nervous and you're worried about spending that much money on a single pan um that you might not use, um I would say don't get that pan. Get a cheaper one.
and then when you finally feel like you, um, you know, walk cooking has made a solid improvement to your life and you might want to get something, uh, that makes that even better, then you can upgrade to the other pan, to my new pan.
getting a like a fancy thermometer like um you know like the the one that Chris Young makes the combustion inc one um you know this thermometer has sensors all the way up and down its length uh so not only does it tell you what the core temperature is which is what most thermometers do but it'll also sort of make a…
Cites measurement accuracy
No, you can absolutely substitute in fish sauce. I mean, you don't need you don't need any sort of real umami source. You know, there is plenty of umami in a piece of beef.
Cites flavour impact
You could use straight up MSG. Um, and all those things are gonna are going to have a similar effect.
Cites flavour impact
I think in in most cities now that have like farmers markets, there's very often like a, you know, like a mobile knife sharpening service that will come to your farmers market. Um, uh, and sharpen your knives for, you know.
Cites availability
so I mean for normal everyday folks who don't want to learn how to um use a wet stone and sharpen by hand um the best method is to take it to someone.
the the one issue with getting someone to do is that often times they're going to be using a um an electric like kind of grinding wheel, um which will get your knife very sharp, but it'll also um take off more material than you necessarily um want it to. So it will sort of shorten the life lifespan of your knife over…
Cites durability (against)
Um the the best way if you're willing to learn how to do it is just to use, you know, wet stones.
Um uh and then you can finish it off with like a leather strap like this. So you wax it and then you finish it off with another strap.
so like the um the the the Von Helmick um custom knife that we have is made of very hard steel.
Yeah. Well, so a honing steel like this um you you generally don't use a honing a honing rod with like very very hard metals. Um, so like the um the the the Von Helmick um custom knife that we have is made of very hard steel. Um so generally like I wouldn't a honing rod is not going to do too much to this. Um and in…
Cites edge retention (against)
there are, you know, there are a number of of good sort of cutting uh sharpening systems these days. Um I've seen I don't remember the names of them, but I've seen one where you attach a a rod to it that keeps the angle right.
Cites adjustability
with a with a nonprecious knife, you can use one of those pullthrough things that your um that your your mom has in a drawer, you know, and that'll get you a good edge.
Cites edge retention
the thing you would I would avoid at home uh is a um an electric grinder um because you're just going to grind the crap out of your knife.
Cites durability (against)
I've also seen one that I think it's like a a disc that you attach and it kind of rolls um which looks really cool. Um that's said I haven't I haven't tried any of those
Cites appearance
you could also take um any sort of ceramic ceramic vessel. And generally the bottom the unglazed portion of the bottom here is going to be a good um makeshift knife sharpener. you can just run it along the bottom of a bowl or a mug and that'll get your sharp edge.
Cites edge retention
I also have those like um single serving microwavable yeah these guys um which my kids had for breakfast this morning. So just like single serving microwavable rice it goes in the microwave for 90 seconds. I mix an egg and some soy sauce in it and like that's like a five minute breakfast with some fruit on the side.
Cites speed and efficiency
if you're going to be brazing your pearl onions um or even if you're going to kind of like slow cook them in butter like frozen pearl onions actually work great. Um so if you're making like a beef stew or like a buff boreon and you want some pearl onion pearl onions in there frozen peeled pre-peled pe prep pre-peled…
Cites speed and efficiency